The Hole NYC: Pedro Pedro "Still Life"
Pedro Pedro’s debut solo exhibition “Still Life” breathes new life into a classic and foundational genre of painting. His fresh take and vibrant illustrational depictions take the concept of still lives into the 21st century. The absence of figures transforms the everyday objects, such as drawers and lemons, and they are now seen through a more figurative lens. The majority of the paintings were completed in quarantine when Pedro was alone.
Pedro painted onto unprimed linen with textile paint, giving his paintings a softer texture. The paint gets absorbed into the fabric, as opposed to sitting on top of the canvas in other paintings. Pedro is able to use bright and bold colors to contrast more subtle and muted tones. The color juxtapositions allow him to play with the image to appear flat, while the individual objects appear to be more dimensional. The choice of a solid color for the background makes the color of the objects pop more and gives it more focus. The paintings give viewers similar vibes to Peter Saul paintings.
Pedro Pedro was born in 1986 and lives in Los Angeles, CA. He has exhibited at Richard Heller Gallery with solo shows at New Image Art in 2018 and Zero Zero Gallery in 2017.